The (New) New Dawn
by Jim Oliver
Summary: I wrote this post-#54 continuation about 10 years ago. I'm proud of it, but I've seen so many ways to improve it...this is the re-write. Hopefully, this is the final draft. I hope you enjoy it, and either way, /please/ leave your thoughts so I can always improve! Thank you!
1. Prologue Part 1

**Prologue**

_Crayak_

It was so simple. The Ellimist was a fool. His feelings of superiority and altruism were foolish. They were weaknesses to be exploited.

And so I exploited them.

For so long, since the beginning, the Ellimist has considered me a warmongering savage, a destroyer of life. This was not untrue, but this was not all I was. Just because I was direct did not mean I was simple. He could scheme. I could scheme. And scheme I did.

I waited for the perfect opportunity. I won games he expected me to win. I lost games he expected me to lose – sometimes on purpose. I wanted to lull him into a sense of control. That was the only way my final End Game, the last showdown, would leave me victorious once and for all.

We had learned, the Ellimist and I. We had grown. I fed his power as he fed mine, until we reached the point of being true gods. We could manipulate space and time. We could shift entire galaxies with a whim. We had gone far beyond our beginnings of flesh and machine and technology. And as we learned, we also destroyed. Destruction had ever been my goal, but not like this. Not all at once. If we burned the galaxy down in a flash of power, I could not savor the slow deaths and the mayhem. I couldn't enjoy the sweet, unpredictable madness of races turning on themselves.

And that was the best part. Unacceptable to miss out on it.

We played different games, but our unspoken favorite was one race verses another. It simplified things. It allowed us to really appreciate the nuances and brilliance of our individual moves. I played, pretending to care, but really just playing a larger game. I was setting up for a death blow to the Ellimist. When the odds were right, when I had manipulated the situation to my liking, I would raise the stakes. And the Ellimist would match my raise; I would ensure it with manipulation. I would allow him to believe he had a better than even chance at winning, when it reality, I would be the only possible winner.

The thought was exhilarating. It would be the ultimate victory. The decisive ecstasy.

But it would not be easy.

For it to work, I would have to find the perfect conflict. Out of the hundreds of thousands of sentient species in the galaxy, I would have to find just the right one. They would have to have the intelligence, empathy, and kindness that the Ellimist held so dear. They would need to possess the potential to bring peace and harmony to the galaxy.

They would also need another side to them, a side that suits my desires. They would need the potential to bring destruction instead of prosperity. They would need to be potential conquerors. It didn't have to be much; just the potential to be tipped off of one edge or another. The Ellimist would need to be confident he could win them over to his side.

After almost a billion years, I found the perfect scenario. The Ellimist was even the one to find the brewing conflict, which made it all the more perfect. He would never see the trap I'd laid for him until it was too late, because he'd helped me lay it.

Humans. Perfect! They were the perfect blend that I needed. We came upon them in an impeccable time of their development. They had started out as warlike animals who crushed any and all opposition to their rule of their planet. They even made war on each other. Tolerance was a new concept to them. They were beginning the process of ending conflict with each other, but they weren't there yet. They were disarming themselves and focusing on goals of unity. It was slow work, and they were like a proton bomb just waiting for the spark to ignite the explosive. The Ellimist wanted to believe in their goodness. I secretly thought that, while outwardly the perfect race for the Ellimist to win with, I could win them over.

I could provide the spark to ignite the proton bomb.

There was even more advantage for me in the scenario. A parasitic race had found them and was taking over. The humans didn't know. The Yeerks were intelligent enough to know that the humans would annihilate themselves before becoming slaves. The Yeerks were ruthless, cunning, and figuratively heartless. I claimed them, and predictably, the Ellimist claimed the humans.

'How do you win a game in which I control all of the pieces, Ellimist?' I wondered, laughing to myself. 'The illusion of control will draw you in too deep. By the time you realize that I own both sides, you will be helpless. You will eventually realize you cannot win…but by then it will be too late. And that will be my ultimate victory.'

(Let us decide terms,) the Ellimist said as an insignificant factor, the bothersome Andalites, tried to prevent the Yeerk threat to the humans before it could fairly begin. I smiled as the Yeerk Blade ship destroyed the Andalites' Dome ship. I cheered as the Dome flared on atmospheric entry and slammed into the Earth's largest ocean. The Andalites' interference was not wanted in my plans. They could help the humans beat the Yeerks, but that wasn't why I wanted their absence.

If the humans won, fine. But if they won on their own, they would become what I wanted. If the Andalites helped, they would poison the humans with ideas of peace and altruism.

(Exile for the loser,) I proposed. (If I lose, I will go back to the boring galaxy from whence I came. I will destroy any progress that has been made there in my absence. You will be free to follow me there and take up the game again whenever you choose, or you can choose to stay here and nurture this galaxy into the peaceful, disgusting soup you so desire.)

The Ellimist was not stupid. (It would seem I win either way, Crayak,) he said thoughtfully. (Because if I leave to another galaxy or timeline and leave this one to you, you will just follow me eventually. You will become bored without the competition.)

I smiled. (So will you. I have no doubt that you cannot live without the competition any more than I can. But the one difference will be an undeniable win on the scoresheet. If you win this game, you win this galaxy. And you will have a head start on the next round of the game. The same goes for me.)

The Ellimist liked to present a façade of being a benevolent god…but I knew where he came from. I knew what he was. He was a gamer. The game was life. And the possibility of being a clearly defined winner was too much for him to resist. He considered for a long time; we had stopped the timeline while the ocean on Earth was still steaming from the Andalites' Dome's impact. I did not let him sense my eagerness. I could not. Finally, after forever and also no time at all, I got my answer.

(On the other side, then, Crayak.)

It was the Ellimist's acceptance of my challenge.

And so our final game began.


	2. Prologue Part 2

_Prologue Pt. 2_

**Ellimist**

It took me three Earth years to accept it, but I realized the game Crayak and I had been playing would have no winner.

I played by the rules. I gave the humans guidance but I did not interfere.

The human children known as Animorphs accepted their duty quickly. It was what I needed to have a chance in our game, but even I was a bit surprised at how quickly they dove into the war. The sacrifices they made…for some reason, it hurt my admittedly hypothetical heart.

The humans were a diverse people. None were evil; after all I have seen, I do not believe the human heart contains true evil. Madness, definitely. But the humans had a surprising ability to adapt; in a way, that was the most dangerous part of them. Jake saw that he had to be as ruthless as the Yeerks in order to beat them. That made me sad. I felt like a hypocrite for feeling that way.

In the end, I won. But I didn't feel like a winner. I felt like my chosen race had become something they were not in order to defeat the Yeerks. By the end, Jake was undeniably a murderer. In the ethical sense, he was every bit as much a war criminal as Visser Three. Motivation aside, action is what counts. And Jake knowingly acted to murder 17,344 sentient, hostless, helpless Yeerks.

This _broke _my admittedly hypothetical heart.

When the dust settled, the humans did not condemn Jake for this; they glorified him. The Yeerks were not exterminated, but they had been beaten back. The humans formed an alliance with the Andalites. The game, which seemed to have such simple rules in the beginning, began to fall apart.

Crayak helped the Yeerks to form a hive, group consciousness they called The One. He was moving his pieces in for another attack, but slowly. He wanted personal revenge against Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. He wanted personal revenge against Jake, Marco, Tobias, and Cassie. He would take another shot at the human race as a whole after he had his personal revenge, but I knew it would fail. So did he, but Crayak was a sore loser. He would smash the pieces and throw away the game board. If he couldn't win, he would destroy as much as he could.

I was disheartened. Even though I was technically the winner, I felt like I'd lost. I saw the marriage of human and Andalite as one that would end badly. I never tweaked the time stream to peek and confirm my suspicion, but I'd seen enough in my long, strange life to trust my own intuition.

I could hide some things from Crayak, but not everything. He felt my dissatisfaction, and he froze the game just as the ship containing my heroes was hurtling toward the bridge of the ship containing his. (What is the problem, Ellimist?) He sneered. Not even Crayak could put too much venom into his "voice." He was disappointed with the final game, as well. (You won. I will never in a gigabillion years understand how, but you won.)

(It isn't how it should have been,) I replied simply. No point in lying.

(No,) Crayak agreed. (It isn't. So what do we do?)

(You lost,) I reminded him sharply. (You will leave this galaxy and this timeline.)

(And what will you do?) he asked. I heard no cunning in his tone. He wasn't scheming, only curious. (Will you stay here and watch what your "win" has brought to the galaxy? Will you watch the humans become just like my Howlers? Because you know it will happen, eventually. I feel it, and so do you.)

He considered when I didn't answer. (No,) he answered his own question. (You won't, will you? You will interfere. You will destroy your humans yourself before you let them wreak havoc upon peaceful peoples. Because the humans would have been peaceful, but we changed them. What we – what you – asked of them allowed them to win…but it also turned them into something dangerous. Something with teeth.)

(I don't know what I will do,) I answered truthfully. In the long history of our conflict, this was the first time the Crayak and I had spoken without the underlying hostility of mortal enemies. I think we both understood that things had to change, or we would both be losers.

We did not speak for a long time. The final collision between our champions was frozen in space/time while we thought. Finally, I made a decision.

(Crayak, this has to end. Neither of us can live while the other exists. Exile is not good enough, because as you said, we would only end up chasing each other around the universe and continuing this pointless game. We need finality.)

(I agree,) he replied instantly, which shocked me. We had never agreed on anything. (We must find a way to end this permanently. We cannot kill each other; I think this is clear.) He hesitated for a very long time before continuing. (We need to start a new game. A championship. It must be simple, and the rules must be clear. There has to be a clear winner. And the stakes need to be the highest imaginable. We must play for keeps this time.)

I knew what he was talking about. I agreed. (The loser must agree to commit suicide. But how could I trust a selfish, evil creature like you to hold up their end of such a bargain?)

**BECAUSE I WILL MAKE IT SO, **an enormous voice boomed through my consciousness. I felt actual pain for the first time in forever. I think I screamed. I heard Crayak cry out in pain, too.

(What? Who is there?) Crayak screamed, befuddled. I gathered all of my power and instantly searched time and space. Nothing. I found nothing. But someone – something – was there. Oh yes, that was undeniable.

**YOU WILL NOT SEE ME UNLESS I SHOW MYSELF, ELLIMIST. YOU THINK YOUR POWERS NEARLY LIMITLESS. MY POWERS ARE TRULY THAT. I HAVE TIRED OF WATCHING YOUR SHAMEFUL, CHILDISH GAMES. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO PLAY ONE MORE. I WILL NOT INTERFERE, BUT I WILL ENFORCE THE END. DECIDE HOW TO PROCEED CAREFULLY, BECAUSE I WILL DESTROY THE LOSER.**

(Why?) I asked. (What is _your _stake in this?) No reply.

(Answer him!) Crayak bellowed furiously. No reply. Crayak's inarticulate scream of indignation, anger, and hate reverberated throughout space/time.

(Crayak! We have to do what it said. We have to proceed carefully. In the end, it does not matter who this other being is. He will only enforce the penalty for losing that you and I decided on, anyway.)

Reasonably, for himself, he replied (You are right. Let us decide the new game. We will plan it, we will agree upon it, and we will execute it. And this time, the best being will win.)

(This is for everything,) I agreed.

(Then let us begin,) the Crayak said, his tone the strangest mix of anxiety and excitement.

(Yes. Let us begin.)

**Author's Note: **Hi folks. I'm glad people are reading, and I'm not too dumb to realize that not much has happened in this story yet. I know it's only the set-up. That said, traffic stats say the first chapter got a lot of hits…a LOT of hits. No one bothered to review. I understand there isn't much to review yet, but please take a moment to leave a word or two. General impressions or even suggestions would mean a lot to me. Thank you =) and I hope this ends up being a decent bit of closure to Animorph fans everywhere!


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